The invention relates to an otoscope with a fiber-optic ring-shaped light, and to a method of manufacturing same.
Commonly an otoscope is comprised of a hand grip which also accommodates batteries, a housing head for a physician to look through and see the field of examination, a mount for a disposable funnel at the forward end of the housing head, and a loupe (magnifying lens) at the back of the housing head. The field of examination is illuminated by an electric bulb which is disposed at the transition between the battery-grip and the housing head. The light beam given off by the bulb must be bent onto the field of examination. The simplest way of accomplishing this is with optical fibers.
The assembly of the entire device is as a rule complex, time consuming and expensive. As a rule the housing head is manufactured first, then the fiber optics are positioned on it and are permanently mounted by means of a plastic resin adhesive. Only then can the fiber optics be covered, the housing head be attached to the battery-grip, and finally the loupe be added to the housing head. In this process, if the fiber optics are improperly positioned, the entire housing head becomes scrap or at least must be reprocessed. This further adds to costs.
Pressurized air is used with otoscopes, for certain examination procedures. This air passes into the interior of the otoscope and has the tendency to lift the pivoted loupe off of its mount. In order to prevent this, there have been employed complex latch systems which further add to the manufacturing cost.